U.S. wins on final play for first rugby medal

SAINT-DENIS, France — Alex Sedrick ran most of the length of the field to give the U.S. women a first Olympic rugby sevens medal with a stunning stoppage-time comeback win over Australia in the bronze-medal match on Tuesday. The 2016 champion Australians were leading 12-7 with seconds remaining and deep in U.S. territory. The ball went to Sedrick and she bumped off two tacklers before racing all the way to the other end to score and spark jubilation for the Americans. Sedrick's conversion kick from close range officially confirmed the 14-12 triumph. The U.S. women reached the Olympic semifinals for the first time and lost to defending champion New Zealand. That sent the United States into the bronze-medal match, where a loss would've meant going home empty-handed. After the clinching conversion, Americans rushed onto the field to celebrate. Sammy Sullivan was in tears. Ilona Maher raised both arms up in triumph. Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." blared over the stadium speakers. In the first half, Australia scored first to lead 7-0 before three-time Olympian Alev Kelter knotted the match at 7-7 with a try for the United States. Australia went ahead with five points on a try with less than 90 seconds to play, but couldn't make the two-point conversion kick, leaving the door open for Sedrick's heroics. U.S. head coach Emilie Bydwell was the only woman leading a rugby team at these Olympics, and she becomes the first female head coach to medal in any variety of rugby at the Olympics. The United States had only previously won a rugby medal in the 15-on-15 version of rugby back in the 1924 Olympics, when the U.S. men took gold. U.S. men's soccer advances to quarterfinal To chants of "U.S.A." America's men ended a 24-year wait to reach the quarterfinals of the Olympic soccer tournament by beating Guinea 3-0 on Tuesday. Victory in Saint-Etienne saw the U.S. reach the knockout phase of the Games for the first time since Sydney 2000, and it will play Morocco in Paris on Friday. "Right now I'm living this moment and we'll analyze what it means once we are done with it," U.S. coach Marko Mitrovic said. Two goals from Kevin Paredes and a brilliant free kick from Djordje Mihailovic secured the victory that meant the U.S. advanced in second place behind Group A winner France, which beat New Zealand 3-0. The Americans — playing in the Olympics for the first time since Beijing 2008 — responded impressively to their opening 3-0 loss to France by winning back-to-back games against New Zealand and Guinea. Next up is a Morocco team that finished atop Group B and beat Argentina along the way. "I watched actually the first game against Argentina," Mitrovic said. "I was in my room, our game was 9 p.m., theirs was 3 p.m. I actually think they are a very, very good team." A win against Morocco would see the U.S. emulate its performance in Sydney when it reached the semifinals. "We came here to be who we are and I think we did it again today and we just have to recover and go to the next game," Mitrovic said. Mihailovic, who hit the bar when the score was still goalless in the game against France, scored a curling free kick from the edge of the area to give the U.S. the lead in the 14th minute. Paredes slotted in his first in the 31st and powered in another in the 75th. U.S. women, men both lose in 3x3 basketball The defending champion U.S. women lost to Germany 17-13 on Tuesday in the opening game of pool play in 3x3 basketball at the Paris Olympics. Hailey Van Lith led the U.S. with six points. Sonja Greinacher had five points and six rebounds for Germany. Marie Reichert added five points. The U.S. raced out to a 5-0 lead, but Germany scored the next six points, including three from Elisa Mevius. Cierra Burdick was disappointed in the team's Olympic opener, but she said it isn't surprising that they still have work to do since they haven't been playing together that long. Hamby replaced Cameron Brink on the team this summer after Brink sustained a knee injury. "I knew it wasn't going to be pretty," she said. "I didn't think it was going to be that ugly." The U.S. men's debut in Olympic 3x3 basketball was one to forget. The Americans fell to Serbia 22-14 on Tuesday night in their opening game of these Olympics after failing to qualify for the Tokyo Games. Marko Brankovic had eight points and Strahinja Stojacic added seven, including a 2-pointer that ended it with 2:34 remaining, to lead Serbia, the bronze medal finisher in Tokyo. The U.S. brought in former NBA player Jimmer Fredette after not qualifying for the last Olympics. But he managed just four points in the rout. Kareem Maddox had six points to lead the United States. Canyon Barry, who works as a scientist for a defense contractor, added two points and a rebound. He is the son of Hall of Famer Rick Barry. Men's triathlon postponed over Seine water concernsOlympics organizers are banking on the sun and scorching temperatures to improve the water quality of the Seine River enough for triathletes to swim in it. Otherwise, they could be feeling the heat. Concerns about the Paris river's cleanliness postponed the men's triathlon on Tuesday, with officials hoping the swimming portion of the race will soon be able to go forward in the long-polluted waterway following an expensive cleanup effort. Organizers said they will try to hold the men's triathlon Wednesday instead. The women's competition also is scheduled that day, but both will only happen if water tests show acceptable levels of E. coli and other bacteria. Friday is also planned as a backup date. However, storms or rain are forecast Tuesday night through Thursday, which could complicate rescheduling because rain generally causes bacteria levels in the Seine to rise. "It's disappointing that there's this negative aspect now with the delay," American triathlete Seth Rider said. "But I hope we can have a triathlon and I can accomplish this dream that I've had since I was a little kid."